COMMUNICATION MODELS â€“ GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF COMPLEX ISSUES

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Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

LESSON 05

COMMUNICATION MODELS GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF COMPLEX ISSUES

True, the Shannon-Weaver's model received attention of communication experts but as we know

Shannon was not working to bring the communication as we understand the term for exchange of

messages for human consumption, in the form of a model. His endeavor was more on the engineering side

where he was trying to put the elements of communication like the encoder and decoder along with channel

in some logical sequence. To his own extent he was successful. But it also showed way to communicators of

information in daily life how to manipulate different elements of communication graphically.

The major missing point or the drawback in Shannon-Weaver's model was that it showed little concern on

the interpretation of the message. In a mechanical way he was more interested in decoding a message. But,

as students of communication will agree, interpreting a message to give it meaning for a person, who is

denoted as receiver, is entirely a different process. There is no decoder invented so far which could decode

meaning of a human message to the extent as it is meant by the source of the sender.

This huge gap remained a point of concern by many till Schramm and Osgood developed a model by

basically modifying the Shannon weaver's model by adding the elements of decoding in the sense of

interpretation and giving the process of communication a much desired loop, circle, in the form of

feedback.

Before we continue talking Schramm's model lets have a break and see communication models from a

different angle:

Advantages of Models

Should give general perspective

A good model is useful, then, in providing both general perspective and particular vantage points

from which to ask questions and to interpret the raw stuff of observation. The more complex the subject

matter--the more amorphous and elusive the natural boundaries--the greater are the potential rewards of

model building.

Should clarify complexity

Models also clarify the structure of complex events. They do this, as well known communication

scholar, Chapanis (1961) noted, by reducing complexity to simpler, more familiar terms. Thus, the aim of a

model is not to ignore complexity or to explain it away, but rather to give it order and coherence.

Should lead us to new discoveries

According to Mortensen, another prominent scholar, at another level models have scientific value; that

is, they provide new ways to conceive of hypothetical ideas and relationships. This may well be their most

important function. With the aid of a good model, suddenly we are jarred from conventional modes of

thought. Ideally, any model, even when studied casually, should offer new insights and culminate in what

can only be described as an "Aha!" experience.

Limitations of Models

But studying various aspects of communication through models is not devoid of certain drawbacks.

Here are few points to keep in mind.

a. Can lead to over simplifications

There is no denying that much of the work in designing communication models illustrates the

often-repeated charge that anything in human affairs which can be modeled is by definition too superficial

to be given serious consideration.

We can guard against the risks of over simplification by recognizing the fundamental distinction between

simplification and over-simplification. By definition, and of necessity, models simplify. So do all

Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

comparisons. As Kaplan (1964) noted, "Science always simplifies; its aim is not to reproduce the reality in

all its complexity, but only to formulate what is essential for understanding, prediction, or control that a

model is simpler than the subject-matter being inquired into.

b. Can lead to a confusion of the model between the behaviors it portrays

Mortensen: Critics also charge that models are readily confused with reality. The problem typically

begins with an initial exploration of some unknown territory....Then the model begins to function as a

substitute for the event: in short, the map is taken literally. And what is worse, another form of ambiguity is

substituted for the uncertainty the map was designed to minimize. What has happened is a sophisticated

version of the general semanticist's admonition that "the map is not the territory." Spain is not pink because

it appears that way on the map, and Minnesota is not up because it is located near the top of a United States

map.

"The proper answer lies in acquiring skill in the art of map reading."

c. Premature Closure

The model designer may escape the risks of oversimplification and map reading and still fall prey to

dangers inherent in abstraction. To press for closure is to strive for a sense of completion in a system.

The danger is that the model limits our awareness of unexplored possibilities of conceptualization. We

tinker with the model when we might be better occupied with the subject-matter itself. Building a model, in

short, may crystallize our thoughts at a stage when they are better left in solution, to allow new compounds

to precipitate

Having seen this discussion by a range of scholars, we continue to figure out more about the model we have

chosen for analysis.

Schramm-Osgood's Interactive Model, 1954

Field of Experience

Signal

Source

Encoder

Decoder

Destination

Noise

Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

a. Background

Wilbur Schramm (1954) was one of the first to alter the mathematical model of Shannon and

Weaver. He conceived of decoding and encoding as activities maintained simultaneously by sender and

receiver; he also made provisions for a two-way interchange of messages. Notice also the inclusion of an

"interpreter" as an abstract representation of the problem of meaning.

The strong points

1. This model provided the additional notion of a "field of experience," or the psychological frame of

reference; this refers to the type of orientation or attitudes that interacting people maintain toward each

other.

2. Included Feedback

Communication is reciprocal, two-way, even though the feedback may be delayed.

· Some of these methods of communication are very direct, as when you talk in direct response to

someone.

· Others are only moderately direct; you might squirm when a speaker drones on and on, wrinkle your

nose and scratch your head when a message is too abstract, or shift your body position when you

think it's your turn to talk.

· Still other kinds of feedback are completely indirect.

Few examples from our daily life

· Politicians discover if they're getting their message across by the number of votes cast.

· Commercial sponsors examine sales figures to gauge their communicative effectiveness in ads.

· Teachers measure their abilities to get the material across in a particular course by seeing how many

students sign up for it the next term.

3. Included Context

A message may have different meanings, depending upon the specific context or setting. Shouting "Fire!"

on a rifle range produces one set of reactions, reactions quite different from those produced in a crowded

theater, though the word is the same. Culturally a message may have different meanings associated with it

depending upon the culture or society. Communication systems, thus, operate within the confines of

cultural rules and expectations to which we all have been educated.

Drawback

Schramm's model, though less linear, still accounts for only bilateral communication between two

parties. The complex, multiple levels of communication between several sources is beyond this model.

The concepts of model carry some more points to students of communication. A few are mentioned below:

Entropy

Entropy is the measure of uncertainty in a system. Uncertainty or entropy increases in exact

proportion to the number of messages from which the source has to choose. In the simple matter of

flipping a coin, entropy is low because the destination knows the probability of a coin's turning up either

Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

heads or tails. In the case of a two-headed coin, there can be neither any freedom of choice nor any

reduction in uncertainty so long, as the destination knows exactly what the outcome must be. In other

words, the value of a specific bit of information depends on the probability that it will occur. In general, the

informative value of an item in a message decreases in exact proportion to the likelihood of its occurrence.

Redundancy

Redundancy is the degree to which information is not unique in the system. Those

items in a message that add no new information are redundant. Perfect redundancy is equal to total

repetition and is found in pure form only in machines. In human beings, the very act of repetition changes,

in some minute way, the meaning or the message and the larger social significance of the event. Zero

redundancy creates sheer unpredictability, for there is no way of knowing what items in a sequence will

come next. As a rule, no message can reach maximum efficiency unless it contains a balance between the

unexpected and the predictable, between what the receiver must have underscored to acquire understanding

and what can be deleted as extraneous.

Noise

The measure of information not related to the message. "Any additional signal that interferes with

the reception of information is noise. In electrical apparatus noise comes only from within the system,

whereas in human activity it may occur quite apart from the act of transmission and reception. Interference

may result, for example, from background noise in the immediate surroundings, from noisy channels (a

crackling microphone), from the organization and semantic aspects of the message, or from psychological

interference with encoding and decoding. Noise need not be considered a detriment unless it produces a

significant interference with the reception of the message. Even when the disturbance is substantial, the

strength of the signal or the rate of redundancy may be increased to restore efficiency.

Channel Capacity

The measure of the maximum amount of information a channel can carry. "The battle against

uncertainty depends upon the number of alternative possibilities the message eliminates. Suppose you want

to know where a given checker was located on a checkerboard. If you start by asking if it is located in the

first black square at the extreme left of the second row from the top and find the answer to be no, sixty-

three possibilities remain-a high level of uncertainty. On the other hand, if you first ask whether it falls on

any square at the top half of the board, the alternative will be reduced by half regardless of the answer. By

following the first strategy it could be necessary to ask up to sixty-three questions (inefficient indeed!); but

by consistently halving the remaining possibilities, you will obtain the right answer in no more than six tries.

Berlo's S-M-C-R Model (1960)

David Berlo's SMCR Model (1960) proposes that there are five elements within both the

source/encoder and the receiver/decoder which will affect fidelity.

Source-Receiver relationship

Berlo's approach is rather different from what seems to be suggested by the more straightforward

transmission models in that he places great emphasis on dyadic communication, therefore stressing the role

of the relationship between the source and the receiver as an important variable in the communication

process.

"A given source may have a high level of skill not shared by one receiver, but shared by another. We cannot

predict the success of the source from her skill level alone." Berlo (1960)

Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

Communication Skills

There are five verbal communication skills, according to Berlo:

Two are encoding skills:

· speaking

· writing

Two are decoding skills:

· listening

· reading

The fifth is crucial to both encoding and decoding:

· thought or reasoning, though you may perhaps wish to object that to place such emphasis on

reasoning, what we generally think of as an intellectual skill, to the detriment of emotion or feeling,

is unreasonable

As encoders, our communication skills level affects our communication fidelity in two ways, according to

Berlo:

· It affects our ability to analyse our own purposes and intentions, our ability to say something when

we communicate - you may perhaps take issue with Berlo on this, since it is not apparent to all of

us that we necessarily use verbal skills in reflecting on our purposes and intentions.

· It affects our ability to encode messages which say what we intend. Our communication skills, our

facility for handling the language code, affect our ability to encode thoughts that we have. We

certainly all have experienced the frustration of not being able to find the 'right word' to express

what we want to say. Bearing in mind Berlo's insistence on the dyadic nature of communication, we

need to remember that finding the 'right word' is not simply a matter of finding one which

expresses what we want to say to our own satisfaction. It also has to have approximately the same

meaning for the receiver as it does for us.

Knowledge level

Socio Cultural systems

Attitudes

Message (code, content, treatment)

Channel (five senses)

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